OT, bound buttonholes

i've got a shirt i love that the sleeve buttonholes have worn out and need to be bound aka covered with fabric. they are not bound now, they are the usual zigzag type that no longer work, starting to shread around the edges, eeeeeek. i am a beginner seamstress. have done a few regular buttonholes but never the bound type.

i've found good pix and what appear to me to be good instructions (tho i've never done this before so what do i know).

does anyone here have any tips to getting this to look ok and actually work to button the sleeves properly. i'm a little bit scared but i love the shirt and i need the sleeves to button so i have little choice. so...... j.

yep, that would work. just follow the pictures, you'll be fine.

amy in CNY

I think it would be difficult to do a bound buttonhole on a buttonhole that had already been stitched and worn (and probably stretched out a bit). I would either do a narrow, close zigzag over the edges or make a handworked buttonhole using a buttonhole stitch. See for details on a buttonhole stitch. To see how to fan the stitches at the end, see . There is a bit on repairing buttonholes at the bottom of . There is more on a hand-sewn buttonhole at

Julia > i've got a shirt i love that the sleeve buttonholes have worn out and need

I think I would use a wide zig zag and go over the present buttonhole. If this makes it too big and the button can slide through too easy, just shorten the buttonhole on each end with the widest zig zag you have. I've done something similar before and it looked just fine. Barbara in FL

In addition, if the fabric around the buttonhole is starting to fray a lot, put a piece of fabric on the back side of the cuff before you redo the buttonhole. This will give more strength to the new buttonhole. I do this all the time and it works nicely. By using a piece of fabric on the back side, you don't have to worry about the new stitching pulling loose. You can resew the buttonhole with the smallest satin stitch suitable, one the is just a tad larger than the original. As Bobbie mentioned, it's easy to shorten the length of the old, stretched out buttonhole by making the bar tack at the end of the new buttonhole just a bit longer. Once you have the new buttonhole finished, trim the excess fabric from the back and you're finished :-). There have been times when I am worried about the original fabric still not holding. When that occurs, I usually fuse the new piece of fabric to the back of the cuff making sure there is about

1/4" of new fabric beyond the existing buttonhole. Once the new buttonhole if completed, I sometimes sew around the edge of that backing fabric so that it looks like an intended decorative treatment to the buttonhole. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

yup, fray'n a lot. i'll have to thunk on this somemore. no rush as its now a bit too hot to wear the long sleeves anyhow. ta for the advice from everyone. lots of things i'd not thot about or even considered might work. off to thunk more about this puzzle, j.

"Tia Mary" wrote... In addition, if the fabric around the buttonhole is starting to fray a lot, put a piece of fabric on the back side of the cuff before you redo the buttonhole. This will give more strength to the new buttonhole. I do this all the time and it works nicely. By using a piece of fabric on the back side, you don't have to worry about the new stitching pulling loose. You can resew the buttonhole with the smallest satin stitch suitable, one the is just a tad larger than the original. As Bobbie mentioned, it's easy to shorten the length of the old, stretched out buttonhole by making the bar tack at the end of the new buttonhole just a bit longer. Once you have the new buttonhole finished, trim the excess fabric from the back and you're finished :-). There have been times when I am worried about the original fabric still not holding. When that occurs, I usually fuse the new piece of fabric to the back of the cuff making sure there is about

1/4" of new fabric beyond the existing buttonhole. Once the new buttonhole if completed, I sometimes sew around the edge of that backing fabric so that it looks like an intended decorative treatment to the buttonhole. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

Jeanne: While I am a believer of waste not, want not, AND I too have gone to extremes to save a 'favorite' item, I wonder if you might try a different approach to saving this shirt. Maybe you can cut the sleeves to a three quarter length, with no cuffs. I suggest this because the lower ends of sleeves tend to get worn and thin, thus not good candidates for repair or reconstruction. Cutting the length could give new life to an old blouse. Go to a clothing/department store and check out that style and method of finishing. They are comfortable shirts and fun to wear. Good luck! PAT

Or dependiing on the condition of the sleeve fabric, she might be able to just replace the cuffs. Cuffs often become frayed or worn well in advance of the rest of the garment. That is why prior to the twentieth century they were often detachable and easily replaced. The odds of matching the fabric on a commercial blouse are slim. So if that is what I were doing I would either go for contrast, or a harmonious match with embellishment. A covering of lace, a beading of embroidery, heck actual beads, most sorts of embellishment can cover or distract from minor differences, or make them into something intentional and chic.

Just unsew the old cuffs, with due attention to how they attach, and use them for patterns. Or if that is looking to be a horrorshow, look up cuff patterns and decide what kind would suit and just use the existing pair's measure. Really cuffs are a lot easier than your old home ec teacher let on. Mine at least made them out to be a dire thing. Now I consider them to be a lot less of a PITA than the stupid elastic gathers she made us do. I never liked wearing those sorts of sleeves, and after sewing them I complimented myself on my excellent taste in that.

NightMist probably a little less coherent than usual because Ash is hugg>Jeanne: While I am a believer of waste not, want not, AND I too have gone to

omg, i'm having enough trouble just thinking atm. its day 3 of 100+% humidity and it is not raining. just low heavy cloud cover, hot, sweaty and horridible all the way around. all i want to do is stand in the cold shower all day...if only i could. i got enough wrinkles without adding a long shower to the equation. i'd have to measure up more stuff than just a fix to replace the cuff. i dont think that is in my repetoire. still thunk'n over the repair job. no worrys, i'll get there one way or t'other. no rush now. just hoping the weather changes in some way before we do Saturdays V Day deliverys. worse day of the year for us and after the injury from one xmas eve day of deliverys that almost did me it, took 4 weeks to feel reasonable again, i'm not look'n forward to Saturday. :( j.

"NightMist" wrote... Or dependiing on the condition of the sleeve fabric, she might be able to just replace the cuffs. Cuffs often become frayed or worn well in advance of the rest of the garment. That is why prior to the twentieth century they were often detachable and easily replaced. The odds of matching the fabric on a commercial blouse are slim. So if that is what I were doing I would either go for contrast, or a harmonious match with embellishment. A covering of lace, a beading of embroidery, heck actual beads, most sorts of embellishment can cover or distract from minor differences, or make them into something intentional and chic.

Just unsew the old cuffs, with due attention to how they attach, and use them for patterns. Or if that is looking to be a horrorshow, look up cuff patterns and decide what kind would suit and just use the existing pair's measure. Really cuffs are a lot easier than your old home ec teacher let on. Mine at least made them out to be a dire thing. Now I consider them to be a lot less of a PITA than the stupid elastic gathers she made us do. I never liked wearing those sorts of sleeves, and after sewing them I complimented myself on my excellent taste in that.

NightMist probably a little less coherent than usual because Ash is hugg>Jeanne: While I am a believer of waste not, want not, AND I too have gone >to